Taximeter.



C. D. RlCHARD.

TAXIMETER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 27. m5.

Patented July 24:, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT onmon.

CHARLES DONAT RICHARD, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 AMERICAN TAXIMETER COMPANY, OF NEJV YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

'IAXIMETER.

Application filed October 27, 1915.

To all "to/tom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES DONAT Rrcrmnn, a citizen of the Republic of France, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in TaXimeters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention refers to means for temporarily locking the flag or indicator of a taximeter in any position it may occupy, and cause a delay in such position before it is moved in a reverse direction, so as to put an obstacle in the way of its manipulation by drivers for their own fraudulent advantage. It is a common practice for the drivers of autocabs and similar vehicles, which are provided with charge-indicating devices, such as taXimeters, to throw the flag or indicator quickly back and forth when pretending to reset the meter, the result of this quick action being to prevent the pointer from resuming its normal position at Zero when the vehicle is not in use, and by this deceptive effort the indicatedcharge is improperly increased so that the driver is able to pilfer from the meter a certain portion of the amount collected from the occupant of the vehicle. The object of the invention, therefore, is to prevent the driver from thus tampering with the legitimate operation of the meter. It consists essentially in locking means for preventing the flag when raised from one indicating position to the neutral or for hire position from being so suddenly returned to the same or another indicating position that time will not be allowed for the registering mechanism to react to zero, because when the flag cannot be changed from a running position to the for hire position, or vice versa, without first operating a manual device, the time occupied in so doing being greater than that required for the pointer to return to zero, any fraud by the quick manipulation of the mechanism is rendered impossible. The invention also comprises numerous details and peculiarities in the construction, arrange ment and combination of the various parts, substantially as will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating my invention:

Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of my Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 24:, 1917.

Serial No. 58,113.

improved fraud prevention mechanism for use with a taximeter;

F is a side elevation of my improved device 1n partial section on the line 2, 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a similar view with the parts shown in a difierent position;

Fig. 4 is a detail crosssection on the line 4, e of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional of Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the different figures of the drawing.

1 denotes a main casing or box which contains the operative mechanical parts of any of the various forms of meters for use with taXicabs and oth r vehicles, there being arranged also therewith a suitable dial face, pointer, etc., all of which it is unnecessary to illustrate or describe here.

2 denotes a flag or indicator of any wellknown type which is carried by an arm 8, having at its lower end a hub at secured by a pin 5, or otherwise, to the shaft 6, which passes into the interior of the casing 1 and has the function of controlling the operation of the meter mechanism by releasing and setting the same into operation, or preventing such operation, accordingly as the said shaft is caused to occupy one position or another in consequence of a change in the position of the exterior flag or indicator 2. The particular form of meter to which this invention is applicable is that with which the flag, after being changed from the for hire position to any one of the running positions, is restorable to the for hire position by a reverse rotation only of the shaft 6 and not by a continuous movement of the flag around a complete circle to carry it back to its neutral position. Therefore,.the casing l is provided with a pin 7 projecting horizontally from the wall thereof, against which the arm 3 strikes when the flag is lifted to its for hire position, and past which it cannot go, so that whenever the flag 2 is moved to the left, as shown in Fig. 2, to any running position, it must be re versely moved back after each trip to the for hire position and brought again into contact with the pin '7. With a taximeter of this kind fraudulent manipu ation of the same is practised by making a very quick movement of the flag from its running posidetail on the line 5, 5

tion back to its neutral position where it'contacts against the pin 7, and then quickly back again into the same or another indicating position. With such a quick movement time is not given for the parts to restore themselves to a situation where the pointer is at zero; therefore, my invention aims to avoid this danger and provides means to lock the flag in any position which it may take so that it cannot be reciprocated until after the driver operates by hand a release device.

On the shaft 6 is secured a disk 8 having toothed sectors 9 and 10, between which are two or more curved recesses 11 and .12, intermediately of which is the arc-shaped segment 13 which forms a part of the periphery of the disk 8.

14 denotes an escapement or double pawl device, at the ends of which are the oppositely-directed pawl teeth 15 and 16, the pawl 15 being designed at times to engage the teeth 9 while the pawl 16 is idle, and the pawl 16 being designed to engage the teeth 10 while the pawl 15 is idle. This pawl device is perforated at 17, and through the perforation passes a pin 18 which is revolubly mounted in the wall of the meter casing 1, as shown in Fig. 4. On the inner end of the pin 18 is secured a disk 19 having portions of its circumference cut away at opposite points to form the concave edges 20, between which are the parts 21 of the circumference of the disk. Said concave edges 20 substantially coincide at times with the inside curvature of the pawl device 14:, which curved edge is adjacent to the periphery of the toothed disk 8. Further, the pawl device lt has an extension 22 which connects with a point in the diameterof the disk 19 near the periphery of one of the circumferential parts 21 thereof by means of a spring 23 which engages a pin 21 on the arm 22 and a pin 25 on the disk 19. The pin 18 and the disk 19 carried thereby are rotated by means outside of the casing 1 consisting of a handle or knob 26 which is secured to the pin 18 by means of a pin 27, said handle 26 having shoulders 28 engaging corresponding shoulders 29 on the outside of the casing 1 so that in each direction in which the knob may be turned it will come to a positive stop after a partial turn. Each time the knob is given a turn the position of spring 23is reversed, and these shoulders hold the knob in its two positions, for it is never turned completely around but forward a half turn and back a half turn. WVithout the stop the spring 23 would draw the disk 19 farther around than is desirable.

By manipulating the knob or handle 26 and rotating the same it will be apparent that the disk 19 can be operated so that it will occupy either the position shown in Fig. 2 or that shown in Fig. 3, or any intermediate position. In Fig. 2 the spring 23 is holding the pawl 15 in engagement with the teeth 9, while in Fig. 3 the spring 23 has been reversed in position so that the pawl 16 is being so held that it will come into engagement with the teeth 10 as soon as the flag is lifted. Assuming that the flag is in the position shown in Fig. 2 with the pawl 15 in engagement with the teeth 9, it will be obvious that the flag can be turned down into the position shown in Fig. 3, but it cannot be reversed without a change in the position of the parts from that'shown in Fig. 2 since the teeth 9 will be held by the pawl 15 so as to prevent a reverse movement. It will first be necessary for the operator to lay hold of the handle 26 and give it a turn so as to bring the parts into the position shown in Fig. 3 where the pawl 15 will be thrown out of engagement with the teeth 9 and the pawl 16 will be so placed that it will engage the teeth 10 as soon as the flag is again lifted. When the flag is so lifted back to its for hire position the teeth 10 will remain in engagement with the pawl until the handle 26 is again manipulated for the purpose of disengaging the pawl 16 and setting the flag freeto be again transferred to a running position. Thus it is seen that the flag cannot be quickly'moved from one position "to another and then back again, inasmuch as there can be no reverse movement in either direction until the operator lays hold of the knob 26 and gives it the proper turn, in so doing consuming an appreciable amount of time, sufficient, at least, to allow the pointer to be restored to zero on the dial.

In turning the knob or handle 26 around for a partial turn, as I have been explaining, the disk 19 is obviously rotated therewith for half a turn, say, so as to reverse the position of spring 23 and cause it to draw the other pawl toward a toothed sector instead of the pawl previously being urged toward the adjacent toothed sector; and in this partial rotation of disk 19 there is obviously one position where the spring 23 is on a dead center, since it will lie across the center of disk 19, said center and the pins 24 and 25 being now in 'the same straight line. In this position, obviously, as the spring 23 is not actin on either pawl, if the knob 26 should be heId there, the flag might be turned about at will, as neither pawl would engage a toothed sector; but this danger is prevented by the use of the concave recesses 11 and 12 in the periphery of disk 8, in one or the other of which recesses one or the other of the correspondingly-curved peripheral portions 21'of disk 19 will engage whenever spring 23 is on its dead center, and in this way the flag will be locked against anymovement at this time.

Various changes in the precise construction, arrangement and relationbf the various parts of my improved locking device for taximeters may be made without exceeding the scope of the invention, and, I, therefore, reserve the liberty of making all such changes as may be desirable, as, for example, the construction of the pawl device with two separate pawls instead of making them both in one member, a change in the relation of the disk to said pawls and to the toothed wheel, the substitution of different spring means for acting on the pawls through its connection with the disk, or in some other way, and various other modified changes which may readily suggest themselves to the skilled user of the device.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: i

1. In a. 'taximeter, the combination with an indicating device and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a toothed wheel on said shaft, a pivoted pawl device having a pair of pawls alternately engaging the toothed wheel, and means for urging the pawls respectively toward the teeth of the toothed wheel, said means consisting of a disk having segments of greater radius than the remainder, means outside the taximeter for manually operating the disk, and a spring connection between the pawl device and the disk.

2. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicating device and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a' toothed wheel on said shaft, a pivoted pawl device having a pair of pawls alternately engaging the toothed wheel, a disk having portions of its periphery of greater radius than the remainder, a shaft on which said disk is mounted, which shaft is manually operative from a point outside the taximeter, and a spring connection between said disk and the pawl device whereby the pawls are alternately moved in engagement with the toothed wheel, said spring device being arranged so that when it is on a dead center across the axis of the disk, said disk will be in engagement with the periphery of the toothed wheel for the purpose of'locking the same.

3. In a taximeter, the combination with a flag or indicator and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a toothed wheel on said shaft having curved recesses in the periphery of said wheel, a pawl device having a pair of pawls alternately engaging different portions of the toothed wheel, a disk having portions of greater radius adapted at times to engage recesses in the toothed wheel, a shaft on which the disk is mounted, and a tension device attached to the disk and to the pawl device, said tension device having the effect of urging the pawls alternately into engagement with the toothed wheel and being so arranged that when it is on a dead center the toothed wheel will be locked by the disk.

4. In a taXimeter, the combination with a flag or indicator and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a wheel on said shaft having toothed sectors and curved recesses in the periphery, a pawl device hav ing a pair of oppositely-projecting pawls alternately engaging the toothed sectors, a shaft on which the pawl device is loosely mounted, said shaft projecting from the taXimeter and provided with a handle, a disk fast on the inner end of said shaft and having peripheral portions designed to engage the recesses in the toothed wheel, between which peripheral portions are cut-out portions, and a spring connecting said disk at a point outside of the center with a point on the pawl device on the other side of its support from the pawls.

5. In a taXimeter, the combination with a flag or indicator, means for controlling the position of the mechanism of the meter, to which means the indicator is attached, of a wheel on said means, having toothed sectors,

between which are curved recesses, a pawl device having oppositely projecting pawls which alternately engage the toothed sectors, a shaft on which the pawl device is loosely mounted, means for rotating said shaft, a member on the inner end of said shaft having curved peripheral portions which engage the curved recesses in the wheel, a. spring connecting said member with the pawl device, the parts being arranged so that the curved peripheral parts of the member engage the recesses when the spring crosses the center of revolution of said member.

6. In a taximeter, the combination with a flag or indicator and a shaft to which it is attached and around whose axis it travels, of a wheel 011 said shaft having toothed sectors and curved recesses, a pawl device, a shaft on which it is loosely mounted, a handle on said shaft for revolving it, means for stopping such revolution in each direction at proper points, a disk on the inner end of said shaft having curved edges engaging the curved recesses in the wheel and having also cut-out portions, and a spring attached to the periphery of said disk and also to the pawl device.

7. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicating device and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a toothed wheel on said shaft, a pair of pawls alternately engaging the toothed wheel, means for mounting said pawls, a disk having parts of greater radius, a shaft on which the disk is carried and manually operative from outside the taximeter so that portions of the disk of greater radius may engage recesses in the toothed wheel, and a spring device attached to the disk and acting on the pawls to urge the latter into engagement with the toothed wheel, said spring. device being arranged so that when it is on a dead center the toothed wheel will be locked by the disk.

8. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicating device and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a toothed wheel on said shaft, a pair of pawls engaging different portions of the toothed wheel, means for mounting the pawls, a disk, a shaft on which it is mounted, a handle outside the taXimeter for rotating said shaft and having a stop so that the extent of its rotation will be limited, and a spring device attached to the disk and the pawls.

9. In a taximeter, the combination with a flag or indicator and a meter controlling shaft to which itis attached, of a toothed wheel on said shaft, pawls alternately engaging the toothed Wheel, means for mounting said pawls, a disk carried by said means, a yielding device attached to the disk and the pawls for urging the pawls alternately into engagement with the toothed wheel, and

a handle outside the taximeter provided with a stop for imparting to the disk a partial rotation.

10. In a taximeter, the combination with an indicator and a meter-controlling shaft to which it is attached, of a toother wheel on said shaft, pawls arranged to engage different portions of the toothed wheel, a manuallyoperable device for controlling the position of the pawls, the same including a stop which permits the device to make a partial rotation, and an internal member on said device having peripheral portions adapted to engage recesses in the periphery of the toothed wheel when both pawls are disenga ed and lock said wheel against rotation.

n testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES DONAT RICHARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

d him i 

